Preliminary motions conclude in lead-up to Skibicki murder trial

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This article was published 16/11/2023 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Preliminary motions in the trial of accused serial killer Jeremy Anthony Micheal Skibicki concluded Wednesday, with the case now set to go before a jury in April.

Skibicki, 36, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the May 2022 slayings of three Indigenous women — Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois and Marcedes Myran — as well as a fourth as-of-yet unidentified woman killed in March 2022, who Indigenous leaders have given the name Buffalo Woman.

Skibicki’s lawyers argued a motion last week he should have the right to be tried by a judge alone, and not a jury.

Under the Criminal Code, a jury trial is automatic in cases of first-degree murder and can only be re-elected to a judge alone with the consent of the Crown.

Skibicki’s lawyers argued the rule is arbitrary and unconstitutional, and the Crown’s decision not to consent to a judge alone trial was “tactical” and not guided by fairness before the law.

King’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal, who is set to preside over the trial, will rule on the motion at a later date.

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Details of a second motion involving the admissibility of Skibicki’s police statement cannot be disclosed under terms of a court-ordered publication ban.

The Harris and Myran families have led ongoing calls for the various levels of government to support a search of Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg, where police believe the remains of both women are buried.

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.

Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.